NLL Insider

The Portland Lumberjax in the 2008 National Lacrosse League championship game? You would have seen long odds in Vegas not so long ago. Nevertheless, with their convincing victory over the Calgary Roughnecks at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Saturday night, the NLL final is exactly where the ‘Jax will find themselves this weekend.

Yet, if you ask Portland GM/Head Coach Derek Keenan if he thinks he’s living some sort of dream, his likely answer is hell no. I had a chance to chat with Jammer back in early March in Portland prior to their league game against Edmonton (which by the way they lost), and I never forgot what he told me. He said: “You know CH, in spite of how we’ve been doing to date, I really like our team”.

And as the Jax lumbered forward in the season, he liked it enough to hang on to his Sting rental players despite a raft of questioning. He liked it enough to tweak his roster at the trade deadline by acquiring goalie Matt Disher. Now, he looks like a genius.  Never mind the questions about next year. The future is clearly now and Portland has its chance to hang a banner at the Rose Garden. Just one more win.

Trouble is, they have to win in Buffalo and the Bandits are definitely on a mission. No more bridesmaids’ role for Darris and company. They’ve been knocking at the door too many times recently without a title to show for it. This is JT’s best shot n the last few years and Darris wants that championship to validate his outstanding coaching record.

It should be a good battle. I’ll tell you right now, you can dismiss Portland’s 6-10 league record. You can dismiss the ‘ol East is stronger than the West jabber. You can dismiss the home floor advantage theory – except in the HSBC you say? The Lumberjax present some difficult obstacles to overcome. Just ask the home team San Jose Stealth and the home team Calgary Roughnecks. Portland went into both cities as the underdog and came out the confident winner. They have big game players in Dawson and Merrill and Eliuk and Powell and Malawsky. Let’s face it, they have big players period and as far as I’m concerned, size matters.

On the other hand, down the stretch and deep into the playoffs, Buffalo has displayed all the qualities you’d expect of a team destined to win it all. They tuned up for the post season by winning their last two league games as expected against Chicago and Portland (albeit the Jax were without Peter Morgan, Bruce Alexander, Scott Stapleford and Matt Disher). They beat a very tough Philadelphia team in Round 1 of the playoffs and then handily dispensed the hottest team in the league in the New York Titans. The Bandits have their own list of big game players with Mark Steenhuis, JT and Mike Accursi leading the way. But they also have a deep supporting cast especially on O with Dostie, Bomberry, Vyse, Bucktooth and Delby Powless. Not to mention that punishing, aggressive D featuring Laverty and White along with their lightning quick transition by the likes of Billy Dee Smith and McCready.

Hmmm … after thinking about that, maybe Buffalo does have an edge. But this is going to be a heavyweight tilt, and much like in the ring, perhaps the size of Portland could be a determining factor in the late rounds … ’er, quarter. Anyway, don’t count the Jax out. After all, it’s 2008 and the Giants are the Super Bowl Champs.

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